It’s Time to Put at an End to Qatar’s Double-Dealing

Offering a physical safe haven for Hamas’s leaders is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Qatar’s bad behavior. Danielle Pletka explains:

Hamas’s leader Ismail Haniyeh and his cronies live a plush life in Doha. He is reputedly worth billions. Is all that dough under his mattress? Or in a bank in Qatar? I don’t know, but presumably the Treasury Department does.

Qatar has funneled billions to Hamas, an organization that currently holds 120—and five live American—hostages in Gaza. When the U.S. was playing the good guy in Afghanistan (before Biden’s disgraceful withdrawal), where were the exiled al Qaeda-loving emirs of the Taliban swanning about? Qatar.

Then there’s Qatar’s super-cozy relationship with Iran. Qatar’s cronies in the Washington lobbying world, at the Department of State, and—perhaps most importantly—at the White House, insist that the Qataris are only acting at America’s behest. Hamas? They wouldn’t be there if the U.S. hadn’t asked. Iranian money flowing through Qatari banks? Ditto.

Finally, . . . there’s Qatar’s nefarious influence on U.S. universities. Between the numerous “Qatar campuses” and the largely unreported cash gushing to U.S. institutions of higher ed, we shouldn’t be surprised to see Jew-hatred flourishing. And yes, there’s a direct correlation between that cash and anti-Semitism.

It’s way past time for the United States to get serious about this regime. And if the White House won’t, let’s hope that Congress will.

Read more at What the Hell Is Going On?

More about: Hamas, Qatar, U.S. Foreign policy

How the U.S. Let Israel Down and Failed to Stand Up to Iran

Recent reports suggest that the White House has at last acted to allow the shipments of weapons that had been withheld from Israel and to end further the delays. On this topic, Elliott Abrams comments, “I don’t know what and how much has been held up, but it shouldn’t have happened. The level of delay should be zero.”

In this interview with Ariel Kahana, Abrams also comments on the failings of U.S. policy toward Iran, and the Biden administration’s refusal to enforce existing sanctions:

According to Abrams, Iran has indeed halted the advancement of its nuclear program on rare occasions. “This happened when Bush invaded Iraq in 2003, and when [President] Trump eliminated Qassem Suleimani in 2020. The U.S. needs to be ready to use force in Iran, but credibility is critical here. Only if [Iran’s leaders] are convinced that the U.S. is willing to act will they stop.”

Abrams claims that the U.S. president tried for two-and-a-half years to revive the nuclear deal with Iran until he realized it wasn’t interested. “Iran has benefited from this situation, and everyone outside the administration sees it as a failure.”

Read more at Israel Hayom

More about: Gaza War 2023, Iran, Iran nuclear program, U.S.-Israel relationship